


Fate, Not Luck

by y_oona



Series: In every universe, you're the one [2]
Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: BFF Jeongcheol, Gen, and fed up Soonhoon, barely angsty, short sweet simple, soulmate!AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-07
Updated: 2018-07-07
Packaged: 2019-06-06 14:12:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15196505
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/y_oona/pseuds/y_oona
Summary: "What about Jeonghan? Would you want him?"His face contorted. He never really considered it a possibility. "I don't know."Maybe, just maybe, Seungcheol needs to reconsider his beliefs about the entire Soulmate on their wrist system. If his friends were happy with theirs and Jeonghan was looking forward to his, why can't he? (Probably because he knew fate would screw him over)





	Fate, Not Luck

**Author's Note:**

> Anything is possible when you listen to Panic! At the Disco's High Hopes (Shameless promotion b/c I'm missing their concert soon)

* * *

 

 

"This whole soulmate thing is a bust," Seungcheol tapped his pencil on the desk, "It’s a load of bullshit if you ask me."

"Just because you hate it doesn't mean you have to ruin it for people," Jeonghan scolded his best friend. Again. They were polar opposites when it came to this. 

Grumbling as he closed his textbook – it wasn’t like he was reading it anyway – he released a deep sigh when he heard the people the table over talking about how someone’s name had shown up. "It's stupid! What if we don't want to be with our soulmate? I sure as hell don't."

Rolling his eyes, Jeonghan threw a crumpled-up paper at him. The two had been best friend's since they were in diapers. Their dads had been high school best friends. It’d be almost impossible for them to not become friends since once Seungcheol popped out, two months later Jeonghan did too.

If Jeonghan had any drawing skills, he’d be able to draw every single centimeter of the boy (to the dimple and the little crookedness of his pinky) while Seungcheol can quite literally read Jeonghan’s mind, if he had gotten up to get food he’d bring back a bowl of strawberries and a blanket without the other asking.

So. For these two to spend almost every hour together for almost twenty-one years, Jeonghan has heard the “Soulmates are stupid” spiel a countless number of times.

"You haven't gotten yours yet right?" Seungcheol questioned the brunet who was now busy trying to balance a water bottle on his forehead. Procrastination at its finest. 

"Nope not yet," He mumbled putting all his focus onto the water bottle.

“Well hopefully I don’t see it at all,” Seungcheol points to his wrist. Jeonghan could only scoff at his stubbornness. His genius best friend had gotten a tattoo over his left wrist three years ago. A completely black rectangular block, the same length, and height the name of his soulmate would appear on his wrist. 

Once he turned eighteen that’s the first thing he wanted to get. His parents were flabbergasted at the blemish. While he was being scolded Jeonghan had been sifting through their fridge, defending himself since he did try to stop him.

_“Hani! How could you let our son do something so stupid?!”_

_“Don’t look at me, he’s the one who wouldn’t listen. Oh, by the way, did you notice his piercing?”_

_“His what!?”_

Jeonghan was a bit bitter that his best friend did that (although he still has a video of Seungcheol’s parents grilling into him). It kind of offended him somehow. Even some of his professors gave their disapproval of the tattoo.

Although he and Seungcheol were two sides of the same coin, he just didn’t understand why he hated the whole idea of soulmates in the first place. In fact, Jeonghan thought it was brilliant. It just meant less work for him to actually go out and meet people and play the whole guessing game of fate. This just gave him a shortcut and he loved it.

Plus, the idea that one person is made for one other person? Who on earth could hate that?

Grabbing his backpack Jeonghan left the library, much to Seungcheol’s displeasure (“You can’t just leave me!” “Yeah I can. Naked and Afraid is on tonight and I’m not missing the idiot of the week.” “But-” “Finish your lab.”). Checking his watch, he smiled to himself, he has just enough time to catch the last ten minutes of the previous episode. That would have been done with and maybe he would have put his arm down until he noticed something peeking out from underneath the band. Sliding his watch up a little bit to see if he had gotten ink on himself, his breath got caught in his throat when there, on his wrist, was his soulmate’s name. 

Choi Seungcheol.

As he felt his heart stop he turned back to look at the building he just left – who he just left. It felt too good to be true.

 

 

***

 

 

Jeonghan tried to postpone any type of confrontation possible between him and Seungcheol. Granted it only lasted two days because they can’t go any longer without seeing each other – they live on the same damn apartment floor, it’s kind of hard.

That’s how he finds himself in their usual bar with him along with Jihoon and Soonyoung who were in an intense round of billiards.

He watches as Seungcheol pulls the darts out of the board before walking back to his spot. Jeonghan saw no indicator of change on his wrist. No name. Just that stupid, stupid, black tattoo.

"Hey, so theoretically. If you got your soulmate, what would you do?" Jeonghan bit his lip, trying his best to hide his nerves. It’s Seungcheol. He never gets nervous with Seungcheol. There’s no reason to. But the glaring fact that they were soulmates and the other detests the concept of it was a little bit of a problem.

"Honestly. I'd probably ignore it," he shrugged tossing the darts, "Why would I listen to a random tattoo that appears on my wrist. You know who I'm destined to be with? The person who rebels against this stupid soulmate thing. That's my soulmate, not because 'fate' says so, but because I say so."

Numbly, he took a sip from his glass as he tried his best not to look at his own wrist covered with a Band-Aid and his watch. The burn of alcohol felt nothing like the burning sensation he felt in his chest.

"What about you?"

Blinking, he saw Seungcheol sitting back down next to him, "What?"

"What would you do if a name popped up? I know you're into that stuff." He said it so casually that Jeonghan would almost believe that he was the least bit interested in his opinion on it.

A weak smile formed, "I'd hope and pray that they'd love me back."

"Love?” an unimpressed looked fell on Seungcheol’s face and Jeonghan just wanted the floor to crack open and take him. “Come on Han, soulmates don’t mean love."

"Oh, trust me," he winced at the crack in his voice, "I know."

 

 

 ***

 

 

"Yo Jeonghannie, we haven't talked all week, you good? Call me back!" Seungcheol hung up the phone, tossing it on the couch. What was going on? His best friend never goes MIA on him. 

"You probably said something stupid," Jihoon teased as he tuned his guitar. 

He had gone over to their apartment complex to borrow one of Jihoon’s guitars but ended up staying longer than expected as per usual. Yet it didn’t suffice his need for human interaction. Where the hell was Jeonghan?

"Maybe he finally got sick of your negativity," Soonyoung strummed the ukulele in his hands. 

Seungcheol stared at Soonyoung's wrist where Jihoon's name chilled. Wouldn't it be easier if life was like that? If someone's first boyfriend would end up being their soulmate and not show up impromptu like when Joshua was dating this one girl and Lee Seokmin appeared on his wrist, a guy from his bio class from the year prior. Or how when Minghao was dating Mingyu, Junhui’s name appeared on his wrist, who happened to be his best friend. Sure, in the end, it wasn’t all that bad for Minghao but still.

"If you're so up for picking your own soulmate, then who would you want?" Jihoon placed his guitar on the stand, challenging Seungcheol’s rebellious nature. "Whose name would you want to be engraved on your skin?"

"I don't know, it has to be the right person or else it doesn't matter. I don't want someone I haven't met yet."

"What about Jeonghan? Would you want him?"

His face contorted. He never really considered it a possibility. "I don't know."

“Because when I first started dating Jihoon all I knew was that I wanted his name on my wrist,” Soonyoung confessed as if it was the most normal thing on the planet.

Jihoon sat up properly, eyes determined for answers. He was the furthest thing from a sap but he knows a thing or two about feelings. Like how he knew he wanted Soonyoung to be his soulmate as well or how he hated that black tattoo as much as Jeonghan and his parents did. "Would you say 'fuck it, I'm not listening to this. I'm gonna rebel' what would you say?"

"I mean...” Seungcheol’s face was a clear sign that he was having conflicting thoughts at the moment. “It's Jeonghan… He's probably going to get someone who's _meant_ to be with him. Someone who trusts this stupid system as much as he does."

"Is that why you don't believe in the soulmate ordeal?" Soonyoung sat up as well, giving him an incredulous look. "Because you think you're not the one meant to be with Jeonghan?"

Deep down, Seungcheol knew Soonyoung was dead on.

It was when they were in high school when he realized that he didn’t want anybody else at Jeonghan’s side. And he knew from the get-go that it would never be him. So, maybe, he had tried to get Jeonghan to feel the same way about the whole soulmate thing. He wanted Jeonghan to hate the system as much as he did so when the time came for their soulmates to appear, his best friend would be willing to go against the odds with him.

But it ended up being a bust because no matter how much Jeonghan would try to deny it, he’s a romantic and loved the concept of fate, furthering Seungcheol’s mind into disappointment that they weren’t going to be together.

He remembered how thrilled he was when he discovered the whole concept of soulmates when they were young. He recalled watching Jeonghan just stare at Minghao and Jun’s wrist when they got theirs, how he’d silently trace random shapes into his wrist during lectures.

 _“Who’d you prefer; a guy or girl as a soulmate?”_ he asked Jeonghan one night after they left campus. To which Jeonghan responded with, _“I wouldn’t mind anyone. To know they were meant to be with me is what’s important. As long as they let me take care of them, I’ll be okay.”_

"I… I don't know," He began, slouching on the rolling chair, “Even if I wanted him to be my soulmate, he isn’t going to be. He’s going to get someone who doesn’t deserve him… and that person is going to be extremely lucky.”

Soonyoung and Jihoon look at each other, a brief look of pity before morphing into knowing grins. Leaning back against the armrest, Soonyoung picks the ukulele back up, not sparing Seungcheol another glance, "Well, consider yourself extremely lucky my man."

"What?"

“You were right about one thing. You don’t deserve him,” Jihoon nodded his head towards his arm as he finished tuning his guitar. "Jeonghan's name is on your wrist.”

Instantly, he flips his arm over and there.

There.

In all white letters contrasting against the dark background. As if it were written on him, across the black tattoo was the name he prayed for and assumed he’d never get to see.

Yoon Jeonghan.

 

 

The speed Seungcheol went was borderline dangerous trying to drive back to his own apartment complex. Literally swerving into his parking space, he ran up the stairs because fuck the elevator and its stupid music.

Rapidly knocking on his apartment door, Jeonghan swung it open wide a couple of seconds later, fake smile and all, "What's up Cheol?"

"You're my soulmate."

He watched as the smile dropped into a frown. "I know," The pain returned in his chest. “What are you going to do about it?”

The shock on Seungcheol's face when the words left his mouth was evident. He reached forward and grabbed the other’s wrist, removing the watch, heart thumping loudly when he saw the Band-Aid – proof the of the lengths he took to hide it. "How long have you known?”

“I don’t know,” He shrugged carelessly.

Turning over his wrist he shows the white letters over the black tattoo. The contrast astounding. “It just showed up today… Why… Why didn’t you tell me?”

"Because you're you," he said with no hesitation, "And you don't believe in this crap. That's what it is right? It's crap. It’s true. It's all crap."

"Jeonghan-"

"It's all a load of bullshit, right? What are the odds! The hopeless romantic gets fated with the _one_ person who doesn't want to be with whoever is on their wrist," His laughter is sarcastic and oh so clearly bitter, "So go. Find the person to rebel fate with you. I'll get their soulmate. Like you said; soulmates don’t mean love."

_"I'd hope and pray they love me back."_

Seungcheol's heart shattered in realization that he's known. Ever since the night at the bar, he's known and the one thing Jeonghan had been looking forward to his entire life was crushed because of him. His own soulmate.

Forcing him into his arms, Seungcheol caged him with a vice grip. Jeonghan tried to push himself away but to no avail. 

"Love me. Please love me," he stroked the younger's hair, "The entire time I thought it wasn't going to be you. I knew in my gut that there was just no way it'd be me. We're on opposite sides of the spectrum. I didn't... you should have told me... I would never have said those things if I knew it was going to be you."

"I can't believe you," Jeonghan trembled with rage. "I've known since day one that you were the one. I wished every day that it'd be you while you threw in the towel, preparing yourself for it not to be me. How could you have not felt the way I did?"

"I did. I do. I swear.”

Huffing into the embrace, he relaxes but still doesn’t hug back, “You know if I didn’t know you for twenty-one years and if we didn’t have dinner with our parents today and-”

“I know, I know,” Seungcheol sighs, smiling a bit, “And if you weren’t so tired you’d be angrier for a little bit longer.”

Jeonghan pulls back and looks his best friend, wait no, soulmate, in the eye, “For someone so stupid, you have your moments.”

“Come on,” Seungcheol tugs him out of his apartment, leaving one arm around his shoulders, “I’ll drive us to your house.”

 

*

 

“Cheol honey can you pass the chicken?”

“Sure.”

“Is that my son’s name I see on your wrist?!”

“Uhhh-”

“Jeonghan?!”

“Ye- OW!”

“Oh my god they’re soulmates look!”

“I suddenly don’t hate your tattoo.”

“Dad!”

“It was an eyesore!”

“It’s pretty now that it has my son’s name on it.”

 

In short, their parents were thrilled.

 

 

***

 

 

“Hand in your final essay and I hope you guys have a good break,” His professor dismissed them after patting on the table next to him.

Falling into line to drop his paper, Seungcheol finally gets to the front and as he places his essay on the stack, his professor grabbed his wrist – he wasn’t even looking up from his computer? — and glanced at it. A knowing smile crept onto his face as he released him.

“Never thought I’d see that.”

“What? It being white?”

“No. You finally admitting you have a soulmate.”

“I don’t have to be scared of who it’ll be anymore,” He smiled back leaving the lecture hall where Jeonghan was waiting by the door.

Giving him a quick peck, he feels Jeonghan’s hand go into his. “You walk way too slow.”

Looking at it now, nothing has changed, other than some public display of affection and knowing that the only extremely lucky person out there is him.

 

* * *

 

**Author's Note:**

> The only reason this was up so soon was that it was basically done when I was still working on DE and it was burning a hole in my WIP folder. Short, sweet, simple. So... TADA okay, bah-boo. Perdón por mis errores.


End file.
